Halt's Revenge
by westhacker8
Summary: This is my first time writing a fanfic so if something doesn't quite make sense, let me know! :) What would have happened if Will had died? How would have Halt responded to it? What about Horace? Alyss? Evanlyn? Let's find out together in Halt's Revenge! [Characters are under property of John Flanagan. All characters used are his.]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: _This takes place near the end of Battle for Skandia/Oakleaf Bearers. It talks about what would have happened if Will had died during the battle. This has been a story that I've been wanting to write for quite a while but I've never known how exactly I wanted to write it. So I hope you enjoy this! Be sure to comment below to let me know if you like it!_**

 **Chapter 1**

Horace turned just in time to see Will collapse to the ground, an arrow protruding out of his right thigh.

"Will!" He ran over to kneel at his friend's side, dropping his sword in the process. Will was unconscious. Will's thigh was streaming with blood where the arrow had penetrated. Horace examined the wound quickly. Immediately, he noticed something was wrong. This wasn't just a normal arrow wound that would heal. Something about it was off. Horace didn't quite know. But he did know that Will needed a healer. With his shield protecting them, the tall soldier picked up the Ranger as carefully as possible so as to not cause him too much pain and headed toward the healer. The healer was over by the command post. His name was Thomas; he was a shorter man, shorter than Will. He had long, black hair that reached his shoulders, and bright green eyes that always knew what they were seeing.

Horace ran to the tent cradling Will in his arms, passing behind Halt in the process. Halt sensed somebody passing behind him, running. He turned just in time to see Horace's back disappear around the bend. Halt didn't think too much about, just passing it as Horace running to go get someone. But who? Halt thought about for a few seconds. There wasn't anyone he could possibly need. Unless someone was injured. Wait…injured! Who could be injured? Then Halt thought he had seen something about the way Horace ran. When he ran, Horace usually pumped his arms, even if it was a little jog. But he hadn't done that as he ran past a few seconds ago. Was he carrying something? He thought back, taking in all the details. As Horace had rounded the corner, there was something in his arms. No, not something. Someone. Halt determined that from the weird-looking figure that Horace had carried. But who was it? Halt glanced over at the archer's post. Evanlyn was there. Horace was missing but that was obvious since he was seen running past Halt five seconds ago. Halt looked again. Where was Will? Suddenly, Halt knew why Horace had run past him. And he knew the figure he was carrying.

Halt ran around the corner, in pursuit of Horace carrying his apprentice. Horace stopped for a second, looked around, and continued running, slightly left of the course he was running before. Halt knew who he was looking for.

Horace reached Thomas, Halt only two seconds in tow.

"Thomas!" Horace said, breathlessly. Thomas turned around to see the apprentice Ranger cradled in the tall warrior's arms. And the arrow protruding out of his thigh. Halt skidded to a stop behind Horace, bracing himself on the warrior's shoulder. His sense of balance was always off when he came skidding to a stop; he'd done it more than once.

"Bring him over here. Quickly!" Thomas said, briskly walking over to a series of beds laid out on the ground. He pointed to one and Horace gently laid Will down. Will let out a small groan despite being unconscious. That meant he was at least still alive. Horace let out a sigh of relief. Thomas went over to where he had his medicine. He selected three bottles, each filled with a colored substance. As he walked over to Will, Halt gave him a questioning look. Thomas got Halt's question and explained.

"This one," Thomas said, holding out one bottle filled with an orange substance. "is used so that my patients can't feel the area where I apply this. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it works so I use it. It's not harmful so don't worry about that. This next one," He held out another bottle filled with a blue substance. "I use it to clean the wound. It's a lot better than using a red-hot knife. And this last one," another bottle filled with a green substance. "It's used to help the wound heal." Halt looked at him with a look of thanks. There was a long silence as Thomas got to work, putting the orange substance on Will's leg around where the arrow was lodged. Silently, Halt slipped out of sight. Thomas looked up, noticed Halt wasn't there and said to Horace: "Looks like your friend left."

Horace looked around and said: "Yeah. I'd better go explain what happened."

Horace found Halt sitting down on a log, looking down at the ground, lightly kicking a rock around in a small circle. Horace sat down next to him, also looking down at the ground. There was a long silence between them, each of them waiting for the other to start talking.

Halt broke the silence. "Tell me what happened."

"I'm not exactly sure, but I heard a cry from Will and just as I looked, he collapsed with an arrow in his thigh. I freaked, picking him up and went running for Thomas. After Thomas had every under control, I was going to come and get you."

"It's a good thing Will has you as a friend."

"Well, I'm not that good of a friend if I let him get shot by an arrow. I should have seen it coming. I shouldn't have let him leave the protection of the shield and shoot at them." Halt could tell where this conversation was headed and he wasn't about to go down that path yet.

"Listen, there's nothing that you could have done differently that could have prevented that. I saw your positions and they were great. Will was also smart in leaving the protection of your shield to shoot off the attackers. Otherwise, all of your men would have died right then. It's a risk he knew and he still took it."

"I know Halt, but are you sure there's nothing else I could have done?"

"Yes. There wasn't anything else you could have done. But keep your spirits up. Because he didn't die so that's a good thing."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good." The grizzled ranger paused. "Let's go finish this battle." He saw the warrior hesitate. "Don't worry about Will. He'll be okay."

Horace looked up at Halt. He saw the kindness in those eyes that solidified the message. He stood up.

"All right. Let's go." Horace said confidently.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: _This takes place at the same time as the last chapter. However, this comes from Will's POV. It also provides some back-story as to what happened before he gets shot and what happens after he's taken to Thomas. Hope you enjoy! Be sure to comment and let me know if you like it! If you have any questions, DM me on Twitter. My handle is wesley_thacker0. I post story updates there so be sure to follow me! Also, I'm also looking f_ _or proofreaders so if you want to become one, let me know by DM-ing me. Enjoy!_**

 **Chapter 2**

 _Ten minutes earlier_

Will spun from behind the protection of the shield. Almost automatically, he raised his bow, drew, and released. Within a heartbeat, Will had loaded, drew and shot again. Two Temujai warriors fell off their charging horses, never knowing what hit them. The horses, now without someone commanding them, slowed to a stop and began grazing; they weren't even the slightest bit concerned. Will didn't see any of this; he had already darted back behind the shield.

"Are you mad?" Horace asked.

"I guess you could say that." Will said, giving Horace a small smile as he slipped out from behind the shield and released two arrows, each of them hitting their mark. He slipped back behind the shield.

"You're going to get yourself shot!" Will shrugged, then looked Horace in the eyes. Horace saw them turn very serious.

"If I do, you'll be the first to know." Horace saw that Will wasn't kidding. He hesitated, searching for the right words. Will saw him hesitate as his name was being called and turned his attention there. Will stepped out from behind the shield again. Four Temujai were heading their way. One had a sword while the other three had bows. He shot the first archer Temujai and already had another arrow on its way when the first Temujai fell from his horse. Will failed to notice that his second arrow missed its mark as the Temujai dodged it. The Temujai had stayed behind and watched a few other times. He knew that the archer would shoot them first before taking on the swordsman. He also knew how accurate the archer was and how fast he could reload. The Temujai knew he had only one chance. But he knew if he took the archer out, they could destroy the rest of the archers and win this battle. It was a risk he knew he would take but it had to be done.

The Temujai, having narrowly dodged Will's second arrow, brought his horse to a sudden stop. He already had his crossbow ready and he notched an arrow in it. He pulled back and released. Will, with his attention turned to the third bowman, didn't notice the arrow that came soaring through the air. He did, however, notice it right as it plunged into his exposed right thigh. He let out a cry of pain and dropped his bow., releasing one last arrow at the oncoming attackers. The arrow hit its mark in the Temujai's chest, causing him to fall backward off his horse. The remaining Temujai, seeing the archer that had been killing all of them was down, turned back to regroup with the rest of his companions; their attention turned at the charging Skandian's. The archers were no longer a problem.

Will was still standing. He knew that if he moved, the arrow would tear more muscle than it already had. Black dots started to surround his vision. The arrow hurt a lot more than it should have. Almost as if… Will didn't finish his thought. His vision was becoming encased in black. He knew he was about to black out. 'Stay standing' he thought although he knew it wouldn't happen. Will let out a sigh as the blackness encased his vision and his limbs went limp.

'At least no one can hurt me here,' Will thought as the blackness surrounded him and everything went dark.

 _"Are you sure he'll be fine?"_ A faint voice in the distance said. It sounded like Halt but he wasn't sure.

 _"Yes. I'm positive that he will live. It wasn't anything too bad that I couldn't take care of."_ Someone that he didn't know.

 _"Are you sure? That arrow seemed a little strange when I picked him up. Something seemed just…off."_ That voice was definitely Horace's.

 _"I assure you. Everything is fine. That arrow with leave a nasty scar, though. Nothing that a little exercise couldn't fix. He'll be able to do everything again. Just give him time to recover and everything will be fine."_ The other, unrecognizable voice.

 _"I'm still not convinced. And he is, after all, my apprentice. I would like to stay beside him."_ Halt again.

 _"If you want to, that's fine with me."_

 _"Well, if Halt is staying beside him, I will too."_

 _"No, Horace. You are exhausted. I can see that. Go sleep for a while and if Will wakes up, I'll come get you. Now go sleep."_ The last three words were more of a command than anything else.

 _"Alright, Halt. See you later."_ Will knew that Horace had left the tent because he scraped against the flap ever-so-gently but Will's keen ears picked the sound up.

 _"If that's everything, I'm going to rest myself. All of this is very tiring. If he awakes, let me know immediately."_ That unfamiliar voice again. A simple grunt from Halt was enough and the other person left the tent. However, Will noticed that the person who just left started running to the right of the tent. It was an extremely quiet sound but Will still heard it.

 _"Will. I don't know if you can hear me or not but…"_ Wait, was that Halt apologizing? But why? It wasn't his fault that Will had gotten shot and injured. Will wanted to get up and say that but he couldn't. His body was restricting itself from moving so it could heal itself. Before Will could hear the rest of what Halt had to say, he found his mind becoming fuzzy and he no longer could distinguish what Halt was saying. It all became a jumbled mess. Without fighting it, Will let his mind drift back off to where it was before he awoke.

Unaware to almost everyone, Will's body was fighting off an infection. A nasty one. His body was fighting its hardest but it was a losing battle. The infection was spreading. And if someone didn't stop it fast, no one knew what would happen. Not Halt, not Horace. Not Thomas. Not even Will. But his body was already depriving itself of resources, preventing a lot of blood from circulating and spreading the unknown infection. Will's system knew what would happen. And it wasn't a pretty result.

 _Thomas ran. It wasn't a full-on sprint but it was fast. He ran for about three kilometers to the east into the forest, then made a sharp turn to the north. He covered his tracks for about four meters before he began running again. The forest made great cover. He could still see the battle in the distance but unless someone knew he was over here, no one would find him. Two kilometers later, he banked left again, now heading west. Three kilometers after that, he was next to his leader's side._

 _"Did you take care of them?"_

 _"Of course I did. You'll be fine. We'll retreat and then in a few months, we'll come back and attack them by surprise. No one will be able to withstand us and we'll win. It's as simple as I told you it would be."_

 _"Alright. I believe you." The leader looked out onto the battlefield._

 _"When should we give up?" Thomas thought about it for a few seconds, looking at the sky in the process._

 _"Wait until the sun is there." He said, pointing to the top of a tall tree. "When it gets there, we'll turn and head back home."_

 _"Sounds good to me." The leader said. "You know, Thomas, you_ could _be the leader."_

 _Thomas shrugged. "I could be. But I'm more content with what I do now."_

 _The leader shrugged in response. There wasn't much else he could do._

 _When the sun hit the designated point, everyone simply turned around and galloped out of the battlefield, leaving the area where they were completely bare after two minutes. Thomas smiled to himself._

"That boy is going to be begging to die here in a few weeks." _He thought. He shrugged. It wasn't his problem now. All they had to do now was wait._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: _This next chapter was a hard one for me to write. I didn't want to write it but it needed to happen so the story can live up to its name. I hope you enjoy this. If you didn't (as in you didn't like the end result), be sure you let me know. This takes place two weeks after the battle. They are back in Araluen and perfectly fine. And that is where this story takes a turn. As always, if you have any questions, DM me here on Wattpad or on Twitter. My handle is wesley_thacker0. Also, I'm looking for proofreaders so if you want to become one, let me know by DM-ing me. Be sure you leave a comment!_**

 _ **P.S. Just a quick heads up: I won't be posting anything from July 5th to July 22nd. I will be going to the mountains then and won't have internet. So be sure to let me know what you want to happen!**_

 ** _P.P.S: I have now posted this story to both Wattpad and_ _Be sure you follow me! Links to my profile are below!_**

 ** _Wattpad: /user/memetrashcans_**

 ** _Fanfiction: /u/9277059/_**

 **Chapter 3**

 _Two weeks later_

The arrow was flying low. Will knew that before the arrow hit the ground. The arrow struck the ground two-and-a-half meters in front of the haybale. Tug 's not how you aim. Will snorted in return, humorless. Tug shrugged and went back to nibbling on some grass. Will sighed. Seven out of ten arrows had hit the target. It was his first day back on the shooting range. The last two weeks had been horrible for Will. After Will woke back up, Halt took him back to Araluen as the Skandian's were now safe from the Temujai. The Temujai had retreated, leaving the Skandian's as the 'winner' of the battle. As soon as the legal side of things were mostly taken care of, Halt had Erak take him, Will, Horace, Evanlyn, and Alyss back to Araluen as fast as possible.

There really wasn't any reason for Halt to go back so fast other than the fact that Halt had had enough of Skandia. They were greeted with a warm welcome and Halt's banishment was lifted by King Duncan and Halt returned to Castle Redmont. Will, Horace, Evanlyn and Alyss were also in tow, Halt and Horace carrying Will when the other got tired. The first thing that happened when Will got back, was Halt ordered Will to stay in bed. As a Ranger, this was extremely boring for Will. He tried to simple things every day but Halt insisted that he rest. And that's where he'd been since then. Earlier that morning, Will managed to convince Halt that he could at least go and shoot his bow. Halt agreed but on one condition: he went back to bed afterwards. Will agreed, happy that he could finally get out of bed, even if it was just for an hour.

Will could almost hear Halt's disapproval of the terrible outcome. But he had tried with speed that time. He still had that, his natural sense of aiming was not quite there. But that was to be expected. Will went and retrieved the arrows for more practice. Halt sat on the porch, watching silently and drinking the ever-present coffee. He knew that Will was hard on himself; these last two weeks had shown that. He could tell that when Will walked, he had a limp in his right leg. It wasn't anything major but still noticeable.

He'll get rid of that. He's stubborn enough. Halt thought. And it was true. Over the next few days, Halt let Will get out of bed for one hour to practice. Will, anytime he could, worked on getting his limp to go away. His instinctive aim was also coming back, though not quite all the way there yet. Will still missed three for every thirty arrows he shot. It wasn't a huge miss, just an inch too far to the left, too low or high of a release. Halt watched all these events with great care, keeping a very close eye on Will's wound as well. It was almost healed, although he would have a scar there.

Two days later, Will and Halt are sitting around the table, drinking their coffee as usual. The sun had set about an hour and a half before, forcing Will and Halt to light the lanterns. It was about 10:00 pm and Will was exhausted. He had spent the last part of the day trying to reduce his limp. He had succeeded, reducing it to barely noticeable. He had accomplished this by running, jogging at first and moving up to sprinting. The exercise for his leg helped tremendously; the pain was almost gone now.

Will yawned. He stood, said goodnight to Halt, and went to bed. Halt sat at the table for another hour, thinking aimlessly about random things. A road-side robbery, a poacher, some criminals that were being tracked by Gilan right now. Nothing in particular. At about 11:30, Halt finally stood and put out all the lanterns but one. He turned it way down so it only gave off a very faint glow, taking Halt's shadow and exaggerating it. Halt yawned. He was getting too old to stay up this late.

As he went to his room, he had an uneasy feeling. Something wasn't quite right. But he couldn't quite place it. It wasn't anything outside; the horses would have alerted him. He didn't think too much on it, slipping into the bed. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling. Something was going to happen. Something very bad.

After spending thirty minutes tossing and turning, Halt gave up on the idea of sleep for a little bit. He went to the front door, slipped his boots and cloak on then slipped outside, making sure to lift the door so it didn't scrap across the floor. It was a little cold outside but not unpleasant. After picking a direction, Halt took off walking at a slow pace, letting his mind wander. He went about two kilometers, turned around, and walked back. He had managed to shake the feeling but now, as he opened the door, it was back. This time, it was really strong.

Something was definitely wrong.

Halt didn't like this feeling. It was unnatural for him to feel it; he was always aware of his surroundings. And yet, this feeling was catching him off guard. As Halt slipped his boots and cloak off, he heard something. He froze. The sound of a sigh died away, followed by another sigh. The last sigh was from Halt as he breathed it out of relief. It was just Will sighing in his sleep. With the feeling significantly reduced, Halt slipped back to his bed, shutting the door behind him softly. Sleep overcame him in a matter of seconds and, before he knew it, Halt was fast asleep.

Halt awoke. Something was off. Not quite right. Halt slid out of the bed and opened the door. He expected the smell of coffee to hit him but it wasn't there. Halt's brows furrowed in confusion. Then he noticed something else: where was Will? Will always got up before Halt and made breakfast and coffee. He'd never missed a day since he'd started. Even when he was supposed to be in bed, he would get up and make breakfast much to Halt's disapproval. But today was weird. Maybe he'd gotten up early? Halt went and opened the back door. No. He'd gotten up at the correct time. Maybe Will was so exhausted he just forgotten about it.

 _That could be it._ Halt thought. He shrugged. It was a little weird but he'd have to get used to Will not getting up and having breakfast ready when he woke up. After all, Will was on his last year as an apprentice; ten months before The Gathering where Will would receive his silver oakleaf. Without much thought, Halt busied himself with the morning chores.

An hour passed and Will still hadn't emerged from his room. Just let the boy sleep. Halt told himself.

Two hours and it was almost 9:00. _This is a little bit ridiculous._ Halt thought

Three hours and nothing. Halt became concerned but he didn't want to show it when his apprentice woke up. Halt went and banged his fist on the door twice.

"Geez, ya gonna just sleep the entire day away in there? Let's get a move on!" Halt shouted through the door. No response.

Halt was getting tired of this. He threw the door open. What he saw next, he will never forget.

Will was there but as Halt looked closer, he noticed that his chest wasn't moving. Halt hurried over to his side, putting his fingers against Will's neck, looking for a pulse. It was there, but very faint. Halt started to panic, something that he'd never done before. But this was to be expected; his apprentice was dying!

"No! No! No!" Halt said over and over again. He didn't know what to do next. Should he go get a healer? Alert Baron Arald? No. He should stay with his apprentice. Halt ran to his room and grabbed his med kit. There was necessities in there but nothing to save a life. Still, he had to try. It was Will's only hope. He rushed back, still in a blind panic. He burst back into Will's room, still not sure what to do now.

"Please, Will, just stay with me for a little bit. Just until I can get you a healer." Halt said. He hoped Will could still hear him.

Alyss walked down the road, not a worry bothering her. It was her off day and Lady Pauline had allowed her to do whatever she wanted. So she'd decided that she'd go and see Will. After all, they hadn't seen each other since they got back to Araluen. She had gotten a lot of paperwork from Lady Pauline and hadn't been able to get away. By the time she got out of the castle at night, the sun was already setting and it became too dark for her to visit Will. But she'd finished all the paperwork the day before and Lady Pauline agreed to let her take a break for a day.

So here she was, walking down the road to the Ranger's cabin. Her thoughts wandered as she walked and before she knew it, she was twenty meters away from the cabin. Smoke curled from the chimney as she approached it. Suddenly, she heard stomps from the cabin as someone ran across the boards. That was weird. Ranger's didn't have a need to run in the cabin; there wasn't anything that needed done so fast as to provoke running. Maybe someone got into the cabin and was running around. Alyss' eyes narrowed as she thought of someone harming Will.

She crept carefully around the back of the cabin. That was where someone would escape, right into the woods ten meters away. Abelard and Tug neighed a greeting to Alyss and she glared at them. Both of them were really content with everything; they weren't concerned about the going-on's inside the cabin. So it wasn't an intruder. What could it be? Alyss stood and walked to the door. She opened it and slipped inside. She heard someone muttering something in a frantic tone. She frowned. It wasn't Will's voice. Perhaps Halt? No, it couldn't be. Halt didn't just let his emotions show like that. Or ever, for that matter. She rounded the corner to the hallway and went to Will's room. The door was open and Halt was inside, kneeling beside Will's bed. Alyss gasped as she realized what was going on. She began crying immediately. Halt turned and beckoned her over to him. She complied, still crying. Together, they both cried for hours.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: I'm sorry for what happened in the last chapter! I really didn't want to kill Will just willy-nilly like that but it plays a crucial part later on. Just a quick heads up: I won't be posting anything from July 5th to July 22nd. I will be going to the mountains then and won't have internet. So be sure to let me know what you want to happen!**_

 ** _P.S. I've posted this to both Wattpad and_ _Links to my profile are below!_**

 _ **Wattpad: /user/memetrashcans/**_

 _ **Fanfiction: /u/9277059/**_

 **Chapter 4**

 _Three days later_

Halt was sitting at the table, his face in his hands. Alyss, Horace, Jenny, Gilan, and George were there as well, just watching Halt. They were not totally sure how to comfort him if they could. Alyss was wondering what to do, Horace was thinking about food, Jenny was thinking about what she'd do when she graduated from Chef Chubb and moved on herself. Gilan was thinking about how attractive Jenny was, and George was thinking about all the paperwork that came with a death. It was a pretty big amount for anyone dying but when it was a Ranger, the paperwork was three times the normal amount. Halt, on the other hand, was blaming himself for Will's death; how he could and should have done more. He thought back to when he and Alyss were crying.

 _After Alyss had slowed her crying, Halt sent her to go retrieve Horace, Jenny, Gilan, and George. An hour later, she showed back up to the cabin with everyone in tow. Horace had been practicing, Jenny had been cooking, Gilan had been in his office and George was doing paperwork, as always. Everyone sat down and cried for about an hour. Lady Pauline, curious as to why those students suddenly went away, went to investigate for herself. She went to the cabin, the first place those students would go. Perhaps Will had invited them to an event and no one had informed her. In that case, she would not have minded. However, as soon as she stumbled upon everyone and saw that they had been crying, she knew something was horribly wrong. She found Halt sitting beside Will's bed, Will just laying there. Halt looked up at her, red-eyed. That told her everything she needed to know. Halt never cried and very rarely showed emotion, if ever. Finding him crying was a terrible sign. She simply kneeled down next to him. They stayed in that position until the sun went down._

 _The next day, they had a funeral for Will. King Duncan was in attendance as was the entire Rangers Corp. Horace, Gilan, Evanlyn, Halt, Jenny and George were also there. Everyone said a few words about how great Will was and it was sad to see him go. Halt spoke the longest, crying for the entire speech and speaking about what such a great apprentice he was and how great of a Ranger he could have been. He also talked about how he was always there for his friends and his friends were always there for him. He finished by saying how hard it would be to move on without him; how he had thought of Will as a son. They laid Will into the ground and everyone left; the gravediggers would take care of the rest. Now they sat in Halt's cabin, thinking about what they could have done differently to help prevent his death._

Everyone was blaming themselves for Will's death, although none of them could have done anything about it. They sat in silence for two hours, everyone lost in thought. Suddenly, Halt stood up, his chair toppling over behind him.

"THAT TRAITOR!" He screamed. Everyone jumped, surprised at the unexpected outburst. "I should have known."

"Known what?" Jenny asked.

"Thomas. He's the only person who could have done that." Halt muttered to himself.

"What? Halt, you're not making any sense." Gilan said.

"I have to go after him! He'll pay for this!" Halt said.

"Hold on!" Horace yelled, throwing himself in front of the door as Halt reached to open it. Halt gave him a disapproving glare.

"Halt, you need to tell us what you're thinking." Horace said. "None of us understand what you're saying."

Halt took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay. I've been thinking. What could have killed Will? There wasn't any blood in his bed so we know that he couldn't have been murdered. But then I remembered his wound. It had been irritating him the last few days before he died. So I was thinking, what if when we took Will to Thomas, he poisoned Will instead of healing him?" He looked to Horace.

Horace rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, Halt. That seems like a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?"

"Not at all!" Halt said. "I'm leaving to go track him. No one better follow me." A glare toward Gilan.

Before anyone could stop him, Halt was out the door with his cloak and boots on and he disappeared. Everyone stood in disbelief as they looked around only to find no trace of the Ranger. Suddenly, everyone heard hoofbeats and Abelard with Halt on his back appeared and took off, hitting the main road and turning south.

"I guess that's how you make an exit." Geroge said.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Wow! These author's notes are getting longer each time I post! LOL! Anyway, this next part jumps around a bit between characters. It plays a critical part in telling what each character is doing and will do later on in the story. The rest of this story/book is going to focus mainly on Halt, but other characters POV's will be thrown in to update you guys on what else is happening. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been super busy and haven't had time to write but here I am now. I hope you enjoy this next chapter in Halt's Revenge and be sure to leave a review!**_  
 _ **As always, if you have any questions, PM me here or DM me on Twitter. My handle is wesley_thacker0. Also, I'm always looking for proofreaders so if you want to become one, let me know by DM-ing me. I also tweet when I'm posting a new chapter so be sure to follow me for chapter updates!**_

 _ **P.S. In case you haven't heard yet, I will not be posting any updates from July 5th to July 22nd. I will be without internet during that time. I hope to not leave you guys on a cliffhanger but if I do, I apologize.**_

 _ **P.P.S I'm open for any suggestions of what I should write about in future chapters. If you have any ideas, PM me here or DM me on Twitter. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**_ ** _  
_**

 **Chapter 5**

"And then he just disappeared." Gilan said.

"He…what?" Crowley asked.

"Simply disappeared. He left on Abelard and I tried to track him but totally lost the trail half a kilometer from the cabin. He doesn't want anyone following him, apparently." They were at the Gathering but Halt hadn't appeared. Crowley questioned Gilan to where he was and Gilan had asked him aside. The two were now sitting around a small fire, coffee brewing as always.

This was so unlike Halt. He wouldn't just…run away from something. He always stood up to it and learned to live with it. Still, his apprentice had died but running away wouldn't fix anything.

"Do you know why he left?"

"Not a clue." Crowley's head was reeling. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask but knew the Gilan wouldn't have a clue.

Crowley was about to ask Gilan something when Andrew, Ranger over the Aspienne Fief, came running to Crowley's side.

"Crowley!" he said, out of breath. "You have to…come see this!"

* * *

 _The night before_

Horace was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling; his mind was restless. Will's death wasn't the issue; it was Halt's sudden disappearance and no trace of where he had went. Horace was worried. He was worried that Halt was in trouble and no one was there to help him. Horace tried to push the thoughts out of his mind and go to sleep but to no avail. He tossed and turned, worrying, and yet despite his attempts to go to sleep, sleep wasn't there. Finally, at around two in the morning, Horace gave up the idea of sleep and decided to go for a walk. He walked onto the road that lead toward the woods. Once there, he began to let his mind wander, let it think about whatever it wanted. It didn't take long before his mind began to wander right back to the problem he was trying to avoid: Halt's disappearance. Which let right back to the thought of Will's death. Horace let his anger get the better of him right then.

"That SCUMBAG!" He yelled, kicking at a rock beside the path he was walking on. The rock bounded off the path and into a bush, startling an animal inside of it. The animal scampered off into the woods. Suddenly, Horace had an idea. What if he just went off and tried to find Halt?

"Yes, great idea." He thought. He ran back to the stables toward Kicker. Kicker nickered a greeting to him and Horace retrieved his saddle. He hastily threw it onto Kicker's back, cinching the straps. He hauled himself into the saddle and took off on the road, heading toward the forest.

* * *

 _The next evening_

Jenny stepped back again as the bacon grease spattered again. Chubb's was gone for the night and Jenny was left here to attend to the late-night patron's. There were a few still left in the room; two older men in a far corner, a middle-aged man at the bar, an eighteen-year-old at a side table, and a lively conversation at a table closer to the counter. There were about seven men there talking. Jenny pulled the bacon strips off and set them aside on a plate. That was the last order of the night. She put the plate on the counter for the man. He thanked her and moved to a table. Jenny wiped her hands and moved to the other side of the counter to eavesdrop on the conversation, which had grown to include more people, about thirteen now. Everyone was talking when they could. There were so many different questions that if you wanted to voice it, you jumped in at any opportunity. Right now, it was between three men with the rest listening with great intent.

"I don't know, it's like he's just…gone. But that's a typical Ranger for you."

"Yeah, but what about his apprentice? Did he go with him?"

"They usually do." Jenny said. She moved to the table, grabbed a chair and slid up.

"Yeah, but when a Ranger leaves, don't they usually leave another in charge? I mean, it's just unusual. But the Rangers are an unusual people."

"That's true."

"Alright, you said something about an apprentice." That was directed to Jenny.

"No, I just said that apprentice's usually go with their mentors."

"Oh, alright."

Jenny stood and went back into the kitchen. They were talking about Halt's disappearance. But they didn't know about Will's death. The only people that knew was her, Gilan, Halt, George, Horace, Evanlyn and King Duncan. She decided she would go and visit Gilan tomorrow. But there was no need for her to plan the visit.

Just then, Gilan burst through the door.

"Where's Horace?" He yelled at her. She was taken by surprise.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him all day."

"Come with me!" Gilan said, grabbing her by the arm. They ran out of the bar and into the square where two other Rangers were waiting on their horses. Gilan's horse was standing next to them.

"We have the rest of the Rangers Corp out in the woods." Gilan explained. "Climb up."

Without any questions, Jenny mounted Blaze. She had ridden Blaze many times before so he didn't mind her climbing on his back without a password. Gilan mounted as well and Jenny wrapped her arms around Gilan's stomach. The four of them took off out of the village and out toward the woods.

* * *

Alyss was in Lady Pauline's office. It was a comfortable office, with high ceilings and big, stained-glass windows.

"Do you accept this mission?" Lady Pauline asked.

"Yes." Alyss replied immediately. She was more-than-ready to get out of this castle. Being confined to her room the previous week had almost driven her to insanity. She had been confined because she had punched a servant after accidentally scaring her. She'd knocked him unconscious before she realized what she had done. Unfortunately, of all people, Lady Pauline rounded the corner that instant and saw the servant on the floor with Alyss standing above him. Without any questions and ignoring all protests, she had sent Alyss to her room and had guards confine her there. Alyss was brought meals, water and allowed to leave only to use the restroom.

Now that her confinement was over, Lady Pauline had an assignment for her: a message for Baron Tyler in Drayden Fief. The message was from Lady Pauline herself and she was requesting his presence at her office in two weeks to discuss some troubles that had been popping up in his fief. Lady Pauline thought it would be good for Alyss to deliver the message after being confined.

"Well, then you must be on your way." Lady Pauline said with a smile. Alyss jumped to her feet and flew out of the door. Three minutes later, she was out in the stables, saddling her horse. Ten minutes after that, she'd secured all the saddle straps and she was out of the castle yard.

It felt so nice to be free, to be riding again, breath in the nice cool air again. She rode for about four hours until finally the sun set behind the mountains that loomed behind her. She set up her tent and built a fire just as the last bit of sunlight faded away. That night, she slept fitfully, just excited to out of the castle after that long week. The next day, she packed up camp and headed out again.

After a long day of riding, she finally reached Drayden Fief with less than an hour of sunlight left. She delivered the message then went to the local inn to see if she could hear anything about Halt. After listening for over three hours and finding nothing, she returned to the castle where the Baron had assigned her a room for the night. Again, she slept fitfully, thinking about where Halt could be and what he could be doing.

Finally, at about three in the morning, she got out of bed and headed down to the stalls where her horse was. She passed no guards as she walked down the halls and toward the stalls. She saddled her horse and trotted to the gate. The guards looked down, lowered the gate and after she had left the drawbridge, raised the gate back up again. Alyss took off down the road. She hit a fork in the road, made a split-second decision, and headed down the left fork.

Little did she know that Halt was down the right fork about three kilometers.

* * *

Abelard twitched his ears and snorted softly. He'd sensed something. Halt paused and stood completely still. Very faintly, invisible to untrained ears, was the sound of hoofbeats. They stood in their position for about five minutes as both detected the intensity of the hoofbeats decrease. Satisfied, Abelard nodded and Halt continued onward. He was currently leading Abelard, allowing him to rest from Halt's weight bearing down on his back.

Halt was pleasantly surprised and relieved that nobody had tried to come and find him yet. He was relieved because he didn't want anybody to be following him around, asking a thousand questions every hour like Will did. It would pain him too much to deal with that. But that wasn't the only reason he had disappeared. The actual reason behind his outburst and sudden disappearance was that he'd thought of something that he hadn't thought of before.

Lost in thought, Halt stared off into space. 'Who could have done that?' he questioned. 'Who, in their right mind, would just poison and kill an innocent kid like Will?' Then he had a thought: who was in contact with Will after he was shot by the arrow? Both Halt and Horace had been there, but neither of them could have done it. But wasn't there a healer there with them? Halt eyes widened in realization then turned to anger as he realized that Thomas, the healer, had been the one to poison Will.

The rest was history. Now here, three kilometers east of Drayden Fief, Halt was headed to the sea. He knew that the Skandian's were still at the shore until tomorrow morning when they sailed back to Skandia. He'd ride aboard with them, something he was not looking forward to, and bring Abelard with him. After all, Abelard was all he had right then. Continuing the Ranger tradition of riding their horse, then walking it, Halt continued his way east.

Two hours later, Halt caught sight of the Skandian ship. As he approached, the sound of snoring got louder. Halt shook his head. Couldn't be quiet even if they wanted to. Abelard shook his head in agreement. With one swift motion, Halt drew an arrow, aimed, and shot. The arrow streaked through the air and landed with a satisfyingly loud TWANG. Erak sat up suddenly and stood up. Not gracefully, mind you. His clambering woke up three others, who woke up four more, and so on until the entire camp was on its feet. By the time everyone was on their feet, Halt was in the middle of the circle.

"Halt!" Erak shouted. "Your blasted arrow could have killed me!"

"But did it?" Halt asked, eyebrow raised.

"Did it what?" Erak asked, confusion obvious in his voice.

"Did it kill you?" Halt asked, eyebrow raised again. Erak thought about it.

"No, but it came this close." he said, putting his gigantic fingers about two centimeters apart. Halt scoffed.

"Oh, you big baby. Remember, I never miss."

"Except when you missed that guy." Halt frowned.

"My arrow went exactly when I aimed it. The guy just moved out of the way. Like I said, I never miss."

"I'm sure of it." Erak said, sarcastically. "So what brings you here? In the middle of the night?"

"Well, I was hoping I could just hitch a ride with you back to Skandia." Erak paused. Then he thought about it for a few seconds.

"Why?" he questioned.

Halt explained what he'd thought and found out.

"Well, we'd better get you going!" Erak exclaimed. "Gundar! Prepare the ship! We leave at dawn!"

Halt heard it before he saw it. The faint twang of a longbow being released to Halt's right. He turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. A streaking arrow came through the tree, sticking Halt in his left thigh. He screamed in pain and fell, the arrow protruding out of his leg.

"Halt!" Erak yelled, running next to his friend. He had no idea what to do. He'd never been trained in first aid. Halt reached a hand up to Erak, drawing his attention back.

"Get…healer…find…killer" Halt said before he spiraled into blackness.

 ** _A/N: LOL. Did you really think that I was going to not leave you on a cliffhanger?! Well, you thought wrong. Anyway, you're going to have to deal with this until I get back on July 22nd. I'm such a troll. XD. I might even post chapter six if I get 10 comments and 20 votes. I do come back to internet connected areas for about 12 hours every Sunday so if I get enough comments and votes, I'll post chapter 6. Have fun and I'll see you in my next chapter!_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I must start this off by apologizing. I apologize for not publishing anything new for OVER A MONTH! I can't believe it's been that long and I'm sorry for leaving you at a cliffhanger. I haven't been publishing because I've been occupied by my other story, 2130. You can read it on my profile. But enough with the introductions and apologies. Enjoy Chapter 6!**_

Horace was lost. Not just simply-on-the-wrong-path lost. But I'm-kilometers-away-from-the-closest-town lost. 'I have no idea where I'm at.' Horace thought. And he was right.

Two days ago, he had passed through Dun Kilty. When he had left the city, he had estimated to reach the next town, Drayden, by nightfall that night. When he reached a fork in the road, the turned left. Horace realized this that night and knew it was too late to turn back. He set up camp that night and when he got up the next morning, he headed back the way he had come. Hitting the fork he had the previous day, he turned left. Horace knew he was seriously lost when he hadn't reached Dun Kilty again by noon. Horace had continued down that road in hope of reaching a town by the end of the day. He never did. He had camped for the third time that night and now he was here. In the middle of nowhere. Knowing nothing of the landscape around him.

It's weird, not knowing where you are. Horace was just figuring that out when Kicker's ears perked up. Horace listened and, sure enough, the sound of hoof beats could be heard faintly. The sun had just disappeared behind the nearby mountain, blanketing the valley in dim light before starting to fade away. The last bit of light was just about to disappear when the rider and his horse appeared on the road. Horace hadn't built a fire yet so he could see the figure of the rider but the rider couldn't see him. The figure passed by without any problems and totally missing Horace.

Horace was exhausted from the past couple of days. He got his sleeping gear, curled up in some tall grass nearby and went to sleep.

A shout awoke Horace. The echo reverberated throughout the valley, surely waking anything else that was sleeping. He waited, listening for the sound again. The shout again, closer this time. Thirty seconds later, it sounded again. And again. The sound of pounding feet, faintly at first, grew to a dull roar as it passed Horace's camp. They deceased as the group moved away into the distance. Annoyed at the disturbance, Horace fell back asleep.

 _Halt was in an unfamiliar land. He looked around and saw a figure in the distance. It was a shorter figure, about the height of Will. The figure approached Halt at a walking pace but covered the vast distance very quickly. As the figure approached, Halt could make out more details of the figure. The brown hair looked familiar; the build of the figure looking similar to that of Will._

 _"But that can't be. Will's dead." Halt thought._

 _As if reading his thoughts, Will spoke._

 _"That's correct, Halt. I am dead. You are almost dead, too." Surprise spread across the old man's face, followed by confusion with his face finally setting on relief. He stepped forward and took Will in his embrace. They stood hugging for a long while before Will broke it by taking a step backward._

 _"What is this place?" Halt questioned._

 _"It's the after world, Halt. It's where we go when we die."_

 _"So am I dead?"_

 _"Not yet. You are on the brink of death. Right now, your body looks like it is dead. But really, it's waiting for your choice in this matter. Since you are on the brink of death, you have the choice to either go back to the real world and continue your life. Or you can come with me and your body will officially die. It's your choice right now that determines everything that happens both here in the afterlife and back in the real world."_

 _Halt's mind was reeling. Such a big choice to make in such a short amount of time. He wasn't sure he was processing everything will had told him correctly but a questioning glance in Will's direction confirmed thatched heard everything right. He chose to go with Will, and his body would die back in the real world. He chose to go back, and he'd continue his life until he died._

 _Halt took a long moment to think about his choice. He was torn between leaving Will and going back to Erak. Finally, he looked at Will. Halt's decision was made. He knew what he wanted to do._

 _"I'll go back." He said, dropping his head to face the ground. Will saw the movement and approached his mentor drawing him into an embrace once again. Suddenly, he felt Halt's body shake slightly, growing more violent as Halt began to cry._

 _"I'm scared, Will," he said, barely more than a whisper. "I'm scared that if I leave, I'll never see you again. Scared that...when I go back, I'll have to feel that pain again. I'm not ready for that, Will." Sobs wracked his body again._

 _Will patted his teacher's back. Once Halt's sobs had calmed back down, Will nudged Halt away, grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes._

 _"Listen to me, Halt. Going back is the best thing you can do right now. I know it will hurt; I experienced this same thing during that night I was dying. I chose to go back, but I ended up dying before I could see you again." Will began to choke up. "But the world needs you right now. It hasn't happened yet but I can tell you this: that man that killed me has killed thousands of others and will surely kill thousands more if he's not stopped. You're the only one who can do that. You're the only person he doesn't known is associated with me. I don't know how he's missed this crucial detail but because he missed it, it will lead to his demise. Go back now. Your body is no longer poisoned and I will tell you where he's at." Will whispered the location into Halt's ear. Will took a step back, tears in both mens eyes. "Now go, Halt. I'll see you again when you return." Will and the unfamiliar place began to fade away._

The pain was gone; Halt knew that. Will had said it would be. Wait...where was Will? Halt's eyes flew open and he sat up so fast his vision became blurry for a moment. When his blurred vision cleared, he took in the setting around him. The sun was up and, judging by its position, it was about ten-thirty. Suddenly, a shadow fell across Halt's face. He looked up to see Erak leaning over Halt.

"Gorlog's beard, Halt. You scared the living crap outta me," Erak exclaimed. "When you wake up, you come a-swingin' at everything." He laughed. Halt blinked, processing everything that had just happened. He must have gotten lost in thought because Erak's face suddenly was in Halt's sight again.

"You okay, Halt?" He questioned. Halt nodded.

"Yeah. I just got lost in thought." Suddenly, his conversation with Will popped back into his mind. Stopping the killer. But how? Where was he? Wait, Will had told him that. Halt looked over at Erak, his face set serious.

"We have to go to Dun Kilty."

"What?"

"We have to go. We have to go now."

"Halt, you're not making sense. What do you mean? There isn't a healer there."

"I don't need a healer right now. Look, I don't have time to explain right now but we have to go there and we have to do it as quickly as we can."

"Okay, but let's get you to a healer first."

"No. I don't need one. Listen, I'm fine." He lied about the next part. "I don't know how I know but I do. I don't need a healer. Let's go to Dun Kilty now."Erak gave him a weird look. "Okay, if you say so. Fellas," he shouted. "Let's get Halt to Dun Kilty. He says that's where he needs to go and he need to go there now."

A Skandian in the back spoke up. "What about the healer?" Murmurs of agreement washed through the others.

"Never mind about that. He need to get to Dun Kilty fast. Let's go!"

With that, the Skandians continued their running plan. One would run in the front, yelling every thirty seconds to make sure people know that they were on their way and in a hurry. Two would be next to him about three meters apart to clear the road.

Halt kept insisting that he was fine and could run on his own but Erak wasn't buying it. So Halt was hoisted onto Erak's shoulders and there they were, running through the darkness. And away they went.

Three hours later, they arrived in Dun Kilty.


	7. Chapter 7

After riding for over a week, Alyss finally reached La Rivage. She came rushing over the bridge, causing two women to flee out of her way and came to a sudden stop in front over the tavern. She flung herself off her horse and rushed into the tavern, her blond hair caught, flapping violently in the wind.

She burst inside, drawing attention for the patrons. Stopping, she bent over to catch her breath. Once her breathing had slowed, she looked up and spoke.

"Has anyone seen Halt O'Carrick?"

The occupants looked at one another, all asking the same question: "Who?" Alyss sighed.

"Halt O'Carrick? The Ranger"? Nothing still.

"Will? Halt' s apprentice? He died?" A small look of remembrance followed by a full-blown look of recognition, complete with head bobbing flooded through the tavern. Some were still confused but it was clear up with someone explaining it to them. They too finally got it.

Once everyone knew what Alyss was talking about, she went on.

"He's gone missing. No one can seem to find him. Have any of you seen him?" Everyone shook their head.

"Da**it!" she yelled, slamming her fist down on the table in front of her. The silverware jumped and feel back down. Alyss ran back out of the tavern.

Two of the men inside looked at each other. They both nodded in unison and slowly, silently, slipped out the back door. In the dark alleyway, the only thing they could see was the end of the alley, illuminated by the moon.

Both men crept to the end and one peeked his head around the corner. The girl jumped on her horse and turned it around. The man peering at the girl pulled his head back to avoid being seen prematurely and nodded to the other. Both men ran out into the street.

Alyss turned the horse around and urged it into a canter. Suddenly, two men darted out into the street in front of the horse. The horse came sliding to a stop, almost causing Alyss to fall off. The horse threw his head back and began pawing at the ground in nervousness.

"What are you doing?" Alyss yelled at them. "You could have been ran over!" One man, a taller one, walked calmly toward Alyss.

"Maybe we wanted to be ran over." Alyss was taken aback. The man was standing next to her at this point.

"You what?"

The other man spoke up now. "He said that maybe he wanted to be ran over." Alyss was confused. What did he mean? She turned her head away to think about the question. She had barely begun to think about when two hands grabbed her by the waist and yanked her off the horse. She tried to scream but another hand covered her mouth. One man began to approach her, a bag in hand.

"Don't worry, dear. This will all be over soon." he said as he pulled the bag over her head, blocking her vision. A pain suddenly flamed up in the back of head briefly before the entire world went even darker than it was inside the bag.

Crowley, Gilan and Jenny were following Andrew. The sun had begun to brighten the sky. As soon as they saw the first day brighten the sky, they had taken down what tiny camp they had set up. With a little more than twenty-five kilometers to the next village, they were determined they would make it there before dusk.

And they did exactly that. Twenty minutes after the sun had set, they rode into La Rivage. A horse stood in the center of the road next to the tavern. All thought it was odd but thought nothing else of it. _Perhaps somebody's horse had gotten out and there it stood._ Andrew had told them that he'd overheard a conversation in Dun Kilty's tavern of Horace being somewhere in or near La Rivage. They didn't bother tying their horses up and went inside.

Jenny went up to the counter and asked for two room, to which the tavern keeper gave them. Gilan and Jenny took one room while Crowley and Andrew took the other. It wasn't because Gilan and Jenny were dating; it was so each room had an experienced Ranger that could hear small noises if any danger was to occur. All went to sleep at approximately 11:30 pm.


End file.
